Carolina Panthers Running Back Misses Practice

The Carolina Panthers may have notched their first win of the 2022 regular season in Week 3, but it came at a price. Running back Christian McCaffrey missed practice Wednesday with what is being described as a thigh injury.

Panthers’ RB Christian McCaffrey did not practice today due to a thigh injury.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 28, 2022

Head coach Matt Rhule downplayed the injury, but any unavailability on McCaffrey's part is cause for concern. The one-time All-Pro has missed 22 games out of a possible 36 since signing his extension following the 2019 season. McCaffrey had appeared to be rounding into form the last couple of weeks, notching consecutive 100-yard rushing efforts in Week 2 and Week 3. Should he be unavailable, the Panthers will turn to D'Onta Foreman and Chubba Hubbard to carry the load.

McCaffrey joined the Panthers as their eighth overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. He immediately proved one of the league's elite receivers out of the backfield, tallying 1086 yards from scrimmage as a rookie. He peaked in 2019 with an exceptional 2392 yards from scrimmage, third-most all-time, joining Roger Craig and Marshall Faulk as the only players in NFL history to surpass 1000 yards rushing and 1000 yards receiving in a single season.

The Panthers rewarded McCaffrey's early excellence with a contract that made him the highest-paid running back in the league. If the Panthers want to compete in the AFC and achieve their first winning record since 2017, they'll need McCaffrey to stay healthy.